


Four Whispers of the Wind

by atroniascreamsube



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Bender Characters, Karasuno, Karasuno Airbenders, No Beta read we die like men, Other, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, ennoshita chikara - Freeform, nishinoya yuu - Freeform, yachi hitoka - Freeform, yamaguchi tadashi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27770224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atroniascreamsube/pseuds/atroniascreamsube
Summary: The world thought that the Air Nomads were fully wiped out on the face of the Four Nation. But like the the leaf flowing through the winds of time, air is everywhere from the tightest cracks to the vast seas and even war-torn nations where the long-dead Airbenders manage to exist.Four directions, four miracles, one bending, one air.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Gensou no Karasu





	Four Whispers of the Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Since Hinata is the Avatar in my ATLA AU! Lore, a part of my heart doesn't wanna see Hinata bear the burden of being "The Last Airbender" by himself. THIS BBY DOESN'T DESERVE MORE PAIN I'MMA GIVE TO HIM IN FUTURE--- JK, pretend you didn't hear that lol. A lot of the P.O.V is done in present tense to show how the four of them think of bearing the current "The Last Airbender" titles before the proper time in the series. Hope you enjoy mwah!

**North**

Heavy footsteps, circles under eyes, children groaning, seven-year-old Yamaguchi cannot count how many more strides they have to take on the mountains after the Fire Nation razed their village to the ground in quest for their domination. The Mechanist told them he saw a beautiful yet abandoned structure located North of their village apparently only taking a few days of walking but their constant need to hide has slowed their travel. “I’m sorry Tadashi,” Theo looks at his friend pushing him on his wheel chair as they now try to find a way into the mountains. “It’s okay! Don’t worry about it besides we’re almost there!” Yamaguchi grins back to him blaring his missing front tooth. The adults behind them carefully guide Yamaguchi as they trek upwards, but one thing has caught their attention: Yamaguchi’s steps sound so faint yet stable.

**_“It’s as if he’s walking in the air.”_ **

* * *

As they entered the temple, Yamaguchi’s eyes widens from the sight: The temple itself is so spacious and well-ventilated that one can hear the songs of the winds in that mountaintops; chipping yet vividly colored paintings of strange orange-robed people with bright blue arrows on their forehead with those flying creatures captivated him the most; the gaps it takes to get to other floors seemed like you need to either jump so high or be able to fly and the statues of bald men with big arrows on their forehead and heads littered the whole compound.

“Woah look at those odd-looking people,” Theo’s eyes were also affix on the sights Yamaguchi is feasting about- it’s unlike anything they have ever seen. “Tadashi look at that painting over there! They are flying with those orange wing sticks!” True enough, a huge mural of people gliding in their staffs occupies the left side of the room “But how can they do that? Magic?” Yamaguchi looks at his friend who’s just as confused as he is.

“Like any other bending, this isn’t magic children,” The mechanist walks to them, chuckling at their curious eyes. “They said they were what people call “airbenders.” ” “Air can be bent? Does this mean we can walk to the air?” Yamaguchi looks once more to the painting-- the flying air bisons sure look fluffy and warm. “It is possible that the power of wind can be manipulated like earth and water. However, no one has seen another airbender for a hundred years.” The mechanist scans his eyes to his surroundings “Since none of us are airbenders, I think we have to reconstruct this empty structure where we could thrive and live better.” For some reason, something churn in his stomach after hearing that:

**_I don’t think it’s a good idea._ **

The young male covers his mouth in shock looking at the father-son duo also surprised ‘What am I saying? Ugh!’ Theo instead nudges his friend “How about we go outside Tadashi? The darkness of this hall seems to be stuffy.” “Yeah! Uh sure!” the freckled boy composes himself, pushing the wheelchair. Yamaguchi Tadashi doesn’t often oppose people and prefers to just agree along instead of being bullied for it which is a shocker for him. This structure somehow is making him do all these strange things he usually doesn’t find himself doing; Maybe it’s the work of ghosts! He muses but his thought trail breaks off as Theo screams because his scarf is being blown away inside the temple. “I’ll get it!” he runs towards the scarf in hopes he can reach it. As the paraplegic child looks at his friend, something hits him “When was he able to run that fast yet it’s as light as a feather slowly descending from the air?”

After much chase, “Got it!” he snags the orange scarf and jumps in victory. The little cheer halts as he raises his head upon seeing swirly yin-yang patterns on the floor. Yamaguchi tilts his head, a pair of juniper eyes mesmerized by the Aegean, spruce and slate swirls on the cloud-like frescoes leading to a hickory door at the dead end. “How did people not notice this room?”

His feet unconsciously steps forward—his mother always told him to not enter any strange places without a companion but despite the lack of lighting, the hall continues to enchant his young mind as if it’s welcoming him like a loved one who hasn’t been home for a really long time. The imposing hickory door whose weird cerulean swirls with trumpet-like endings intrigues him even more because he never seen such decorations on a door. Suddenly, his nose itches causing a sense of panic washing over him—he’s not really fond of his own sneeze as it is not only booming but blows either him or everything away from his path but unfortunately he can no longer control it.

**_ACHOO!_ **

As he wipes his sneezes, the swirls turned around releasing series of toot as the door slowly opens for him. It dawned on the kid that his sneezes are powerful enough that it opened a lock “The door is powered by air?” Yamaguchi tiptoes taking a cursory glance of what it might look like on the inside, hoping there were no creepy crawlies. Instead of creepy crawlies, various sundries and knickknacks are left in surprisingly pristine condition as if it was preserved in time a shine of bronze bell draws him near.

Suddenly a whoosh of air greets him with a sonorous ring of a bell ringing his ears. It made him almost lose balance from the sudden stimulation but then solemn chants are replacing the melodious ringing of the bell. A montage slowly appears before his eyes: those strange figures in orange robes slowly coming to life going on and about; air bison circling the children they are chosen to be with for the rest of their lives and bald children gliding with something looking so free in the skies making fun of the gravity on the air temple. As it goes on a bright light envelopes his being and it definitely felt like arms were hugging as warmth seeps through him lulling him into a slumber.

\--

“Tadashi! TADASHI!”

Yamaguchi jolts awake to his mother, fear-stricken and worried, tapping his cheek “What happened?” the kid asks. “I should ask you that!” she hugs him tighter than usual “Theo said you just got his scarf until the winds suddenly turned into squall almost blowing everything in its path! Also how on earth did you get here? Not even the mechanist figured out how to open this!”

Poor Yamaguchi relays his story on how apparently his gale-like sneeze opened the door and suddenly seeing random visions while the mechanist and Yamaguchi’s father inspects the artifacts with utmost curiosity. The mechanist picks a staff nearby jumps away as it unfolds “It’s like wings?” “Ooh I saw that in my visions!” Yamaguchi curiously stations himself much to his bad luck, he sneezes all of a sudden then flies out of the sanctuary screaming as the glider zooms throughout the corridors of the northern air temple. “AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!”

* * *

Ever since his incident with the staff glider, the mechanist becomes even more inspire to make Theo more mobile with these “airwalkers” and could be used in retro-fitting the temple. Though for Yamaguchi he keeps on sneezing and getting everything blown away that made his parents worry that he might not only hurt himself and other but also the fire nation could figure out the existence of their settlement.

After a serious night of convening, the mechanist taps his chin “I know a friend who can help you get to the Northern Water Tribe, he is also busy finding cures for his ailing daughter but none of the herbs in this mountain could help her.” The parents then looks at Yamaguchi laying asleep silently, his father looking at him. “I know it’s going to be a long sail to the North Pole but this is our only chance for survival, Tadashi’s survival.”

It was a long trek to the North Pole; his family along with a guy named Shimada traverse through lands holding on dear life as they pray to the spirits for the safety of their journey. Good thing no one mobbed them on their land travel but the two to three day sail is the start of the long long days ahead. It was a blessing that Shimada’s provisions were plenty and about for a party of five to the isolated North Pole yet they find themselves both in fear and hope—fear that they might be treated with hostility as outsiders and hope that when they took pity of their sick children, they might even find themselves a safe haven despite the stories of its raging cold Tundra.

Day by day, Yamaguchi finds himself layering more clothes as icebergs start to appear. Ever since he had that awakening in the temple, he finds himself, dare he say, more attune to the shift of winds. Yamaguchi is on the dock that day, inhaling the scent of cold sea around him ‘Wait something isn’t’ right’. Icicles suddenly sprouted out of nowhere like crazy that made Shimada’s daughter scream in fright but the parents just raised their children in hopes that their sickly features would make the approaching waterbender soldiers on their way. As the elder soldiers board the boat to inspect them, Yamaguchi’s another round of that intense sneeze made them reconsider their initial hostility.

Inside the healing huts, all he can hear was whispers and more waterbending masters surrounding him had a mixture of worry and amazement in their features. Like the masters, his parents were initially smiling knowing he isn’t sick however it quickly changes to horror as he heard these words

_He is an Airbender._

They solemnly broke the news to his parents warning that if the Fire Nation knew of an existence of another Airbender, they will be in danger. That day, his parents decides to remain in the poles in which the Chief and one of the chief healers, the Tsukishima Clan, immediately welcome the family to the fold after the family was offered refuge on this revelation. As there's no airbending master in existence due to the genocide, train his spirituality instead and introduced some waterbending techniques to keep his bending alive. Though the cold climate takes some time to adjust, Yamaguchi never minded it because the isolation of this tribe guaranteed his anxiety over getting hunted by the Fire Nation. However, there is one type of coldness he still doesn’t get used to.

“Hey Tadashi! What’s up with your lumpy face, stupid?!” Yamaguchi tries so hard to ignore them but when he does snowballs and their bag next were thrown at him “Are you deaf or just lame? The elders’ healing services are wasted on someone like you who is lameeeee!” “Are you really that going to pick a sick kid? You do realize picking him around won’t still make you guys beat me.” A tall blonde guy calls out at the distance, watching over the pathetic spectacle he just witnessed. “Oh! That’s as if you even have the skills to beat me in the first place.”

“The heck you said?” one of them approaches the bespectacled blonde only to be met with cold gaze as the blonde towers over them. “Lame,” “NO YOU’RE LAME! LAME!” the kid just blows raspberry at him as they run away. Yamaguchi knew that he wasn’t actually defending his honor but it was nice to see people getting beaten up by their own stupidity for once. “Hey! Hey tall kid! Wait up!”

The blonde stops in his tracks, turning to him “I just wanna say thanks! You look so cool out there! I wish I can be like you.” Yamaguchi huffs and composes himself. “For that? Oh that’s nothing, they are quite fun to roast actually.” The taller kid looks away, blushing from the shower of compliments from this strange new kid whom his mother secretly reveal as a “diagnosed” airbender. At lost with words, they still didn’t looked at each other’s eyes.

“Y-yamaguchi.”

“…Tsukishima.”

* * *

Years pass, Yamaguchi is always seen with his now close friend, the aloof Tsukishima, whether with Tsukki’s waterbending training which often turns into an experiment of how much waterbending movements can be applied in airbending or just sitting silently underneath the stars while Yamaguchi is meditating as Tsukishima would go snarky how he thinks sitting outside on a cold night is way better than getting warm inside. Despite the sarcastic escapist humor his best friend spouts, Yamaguchi has never felt more peaceful and made himself home inside this reclusive tribe. Until one day during the full moon, Yamaguchi suddenly ends up gasping during meditating—it is a similar feeling when he first saw the visions of the past. This time however all he sees is a fiery-headed boy but this ginger is levitating as his eyes and the same arrow markings he saw on the temples’ frescoes glow in pure light as the world was enriched by his blessings of the wind, water, earth and fire. The boy just points his fingers at Yamaguchi with blue markings slowly appearing his head, hands and feet.

“He’s alive Tsukishima…”

_I will be ready for his arrival._

**South**

Her village was regarded by the neighboring villages as weird- chanting and meditation is a routine regarded as especially sacred to their elders; fights doesn’t seem to break as often as other towns for they settle things quickly; their worship to a spirit called “Lady Tienhai” and the unusual fondness for vegetarian or vegetable-based dishes amongst the general population. Things like spirituality is something that the other villages have long been abandoned by other people who focused on their survival and being on guard to any Fire Nation activity.

But it doesn’t matter to her as it has and always been safe. Their village is somewhat isolated compared to others in the area and that’s enough for time being. Her quiet life is something she always wanted—nothing more nothing less as long as Fire Nation didn’t came to their community. Until one morning, when she was seven, the viridian leaves turned burnt sienna, it’s that wonderful time in the year where leaves fall signaling a big feast incoming but for Yachi it is the yearly hunt for the perfect colored leaves for her drawings. “What a beautiful leaf!” Yachi dashes forward about to scoop the leaf with open palm but suddenly the leaf gets blown away instead. ‘It isn’t windy?’ she blinks slowly shrugging it off trying to scoop that leaf but it gets blown away. In spite of the confusing turn of events, she just keeps on trying to get the leaf with both left and right hands unconsciously the leaves around her get sucked in with the trail of wind she is unknowingly forming.

Then a swirling wall of leaves began to surround the girl with more attempts in catching the leaf without trying to crumple it. The focus of the golden leaf slowly fade as the whirling crimson, ochre and gold surrounded her view—it wasn’t anything like it for the young Hitoka-chan as the wall of warm colors invaded her senses. As the leaves slowly fell, she still continues to bask on the revelry “That was-“ “INCREDIBLE!” the elders along with Yachi exclaimed in unison making the child yelp in surprise. They all rushed to her with teary eyes and smiles “An airbender,” one of the elders whispers as she places both of her wrinkled hands on her shoulders.

That night the feast was also held in honor of the discovery as well as the bounty of the crops this season. Apparently in their talks that they thought that their generation will no longer have any airbenders until Yachi came along—a miracle. As days pass, she was trained in secrecy in the nearby mountains by the elders who retained their airbending despite her nervousness always getting the best out of her at times though she excels in creativity—a virtue also cherished by the former Nomads. In their stories, Yachi has always been fascinating hearing about few of the surviving stories of their people and their way of life but the tattoos and the air bison fascinated her the most. “Elder Lin, when will I get my tattoos?” she asks as they were dining on that tofu curry prepared by Yachi’s mother. Elder Lin just smiles “Oh you will get them one day but not now... Not until the war is ended by the avatar.” “But he’s an air nomad, isn’t he? Maybe he will be the one to give us tattoos!—“ She then silences herself after her mother yells her name “I-I’m sorry Elder Lin, I was thinking what if we could help the avatar somehow and maybe…” She looks forlornly at the food “Fire Nation won’t get to kill more of our people just for having tattoos in our forehead.”

“No, it’s alright Hitoka-chan. You are right, we must somehow do our part to help even just our own neighbors in making way for the avatar to defeat this great evil amongst us.” she musses the blonde’s hair “And by then, maybe you can get your tattoos from him.”

No one knew that this simple talk was the last thing she ever heard of Elder Lin that night.

**“FIRE! FIRE!”**

All hell broke loose as Komodo Rhinos were stomping all over the village, soldiers marching to the beat of drums and scorching everything they see. It all happened so fast for the poor Yachi—the ochre leaves was now replaced with the burning crimson of fire spreading throughout the blazes. “Hitoka! Come on!” Madoka drags her from their bed. “Mom! The monk beads!” Yachi opens the trunk of their possessions, scrambling for that monk beads his father hid. “Hurry!” she drags her out of the trunk, thankfully grabbing the beads to meet Elder Yun in their doorstep who is on the lookout for any incoming soldier.

“Madoka, Elder Lin and I along with others will stay back. Go to Ba Sing Se and find a man named Jinwoo, he’s a short stocky man in the customs.” The old man shakily gives her a coin with an insignia with a white lotus on. “Hitoka take this,” Elder Yun reaches out his own elder beads “When the avatar returns show it and give it to the Avatar…. Show to him that he’s not the last airbender… If not, wear this with pride and show to the world that we still exist in the form of you- the miracle in this world of strife.”

The weeks that have passed by from seeing their elders forming a gigantic tornado to their arduous journey alongside with other displaced people seeking refuge to the walls of Ba Sing Se until they narrowly escaped being placed on the dangerous part of the Outer Ring to the relatively safer areas of the same ring. The only thing that kept her afloat during those things that seemed like forever was the two monk beads she squirreled away from the prying eyes as she cloisters herself in their house, hoping one day the world will be liberated by the Avatar to finally get her tattoos with no fear.

**East**

Chasing the next chicken for lunch, going to the farmers market to buy new produce, accompany the kid of the rich master his parents were working for and help with other menial tasks while having those free tutoring lessons has always been a daily activity for the nine-year-old Ennoshita Chikara. His swift yet barely audible footsteps always manages to surprise people as they haven’t seen someone running errands that fast. Aside from his speed, his intellect was something commended by the Lord of their house as he can recite haikus and perform more complicated arithmetic compared to the young master which garnered that free education they pledged for him.

“Chikara!” His mother, a head cook of the Estate’s kitchen, calls out to him which in no time the kid responds swiftly “Please get me some tomato carrots from Old Man Ding the Lady of the house requests for that soup yet the shipment for it has yet to arrive.” Ennoshita wordless bows then scoots off quickly after getting the money. Old Man Ding is somewhere near the outskirts of the Upper Ring but his vegetables is one of the best secrets in the Upper Ring. As quick as he came, he walks back home to observe his surroundings— Unlike the inner ring, the outer ring is certainly not a beauty to the eyes but off the heart to people who worked hard to survive though thankfully, his adoptive father found a spot as a gardener in the estate.

Bright blue leafed tree catch his attention that he almost dropped his merchandise then he ran towards it as if it’s calling him to come closer. “Peaches?” he raises a brow from the sight of the pale yet delicious looking peaches hanging high on the trees. Ennoshita groans his stomach growling from burning much energy from his shopping “Too bad I’m not good in climbing trees.” Just as he was about to grumble, he sees a lower branch filled with fruits. Putting the merchandise down, Ennoshita makes his way to that branch “Maybe I can try and jump this,” taking a step forward he runs only to trip a bit. Then, he kept on jumping, jumping and jumping until

_BAM!_

Much to his surprise, a force of wind suddenly propelled him upwards. As his initial shock wears off, he immediately latches to the stronger branches holding on dear life but those branches contains a lot of fruits which snapped from his weight. “AHH!” he yells, bracing for the impact readying his arms to soften the blow. However, instead of hurtful force greeting him a ball of air prevents his nose from meeting the soft grassy ground.

\---

“I told you Mom, I just jumped and I suddenly reached it look!” as his mom is about to tell him to already cut it off, Ennoshita jumps so high that it reached past his parents head then descending slowly with some sort of air orbs. “Y-you,” “See Dad I told you! Woah--” suddenly a forceful pull of an arm and a palm covered his mouth “C-chikara, don’t do it in front of other people it is dangerous.” His father shushed him then continues “I think what have you done is airbending.” The young man’s eyes widened from the discovery “Oh!” a joyous grin breaks out as he hugs his dad. “Just as I suspected,” his mom wistfully smiles. “To be honest we found you not on a vegetable patch but underneath that moon peach tree. I was suspecting that you might have an air nomad lineage for that peach is a flora found in the Air Nomads.” Ennoshita approaches and gives his mom a bone-crushing hug “Mom, I don’t care where I am from because you are my mom now!” 

His mother smiles in delight, returning the hug “If you’re going to ask me where the nomads are, the next thing we’re going to say is the reason why we don’t want you to practice it.” His father inhales “You see about a hundred years ago the fire nation invaded their homes and destroyed each one of them as the next avatar is an Air Nomad.” Then looks at the inquisitive eyes of the astute Ennoshita “But no one knew what happened to the Air Nomad avatar. Some say he died in the hands of fire nation while others say he might have not been truly reborn so I want you to promise Chikara to hide your powers until it’s safe okay?”

“Okay…”

‘Killing airbenders because they want to rule the world? Fire nation is so cruel! But Earth Kingdom is no different as they don’t want people to know about how the war is outside Ba Sing Se.’ Ennoshita writes in his diary that night. ‘I wonder, how did I gain airbending when the Air Nomads were killed? Weird, but if I’m the only airbender in existence then I must do whatever it takes to know and preserve the Air Nomad teachings ’He slams his booklet with a different fire in his eyes- tomorrow, he will learn everything, he will learn everything there is to know about airbending.

With much convincing to his master’s teacher, he vouch his academic gift to gain access to public libraries of the elite Ba Sing Se university. “36 levels to become a master?!” A sweat dropped his brow from the information “Looks like I will take really baby steps!” For the next years, his parents were initially surprised but then welcome his new habits such as from being picky to food, he incorporated more vegetables in his diet; Ennoshita becomes more concerned towards maintaining peace and often meditates every sunrise and sunset. In his quiet moments, he hopes that one day he could find a breakthrough of his identity as an airbender.

**West**

The chirping of the birds fill the warm summer air as the six-year-old Nishinoya "Wouldn't it be cool if we could somehow bend air? I mean air is light and looks awesome! Maybe you can fly with it!" All he sees is his playmates hurling rocks at each other thinking that earthbending is the only coolest thing to ever exist.

His playmates looks at him as if he had grown six arms then laughs out loud "Yuu, you're just afraid of rocks hitting you! There's no way Air can be bent! I mean HEY look!" one of them hurls a grasshopper at his direction earning a shriek so loud that made them cover their ears. "Didn't I told you not to make him scream?!" Rei kicks the one who threw the grasshopper. ”His screams are loud enough to get to other towns!” "Geez, I’m sorry I forgot." The kid remained unapologetic, rubbing his shoulders. “Oh it’s sunset! Let’s get back home”

\--

After supper, Nishinoya sits atop of their front yard looking at the stars below. ‘Gee, why do people think it’s not possible to bend air?’ he stretches his hands forward making soft swirling movements as he imagines how bending air might feel like. ‘If air is flowy and stuff, maybe movements are softer and more erratic.’ Unconsciously, a small mass of air slowly forms to life as leaves started to gather in his mini tornado he makes “Huh?!” he screams but the tornado is slowly losing form making him doing the same movements frantically in hopes to keep it in shape. “Yuu! What’s with the racket oh!” His elder sister appears only to rush back to their house and tags the rest of the family also surprised at the sight. His mother turns to his father “We must contact Father!--”

All of a sudden, a short man sporting an orange bandana appears in front of them “Looking for me?”

“Ahh!” The rest of the family shrieks from his sudden appearance. “I should be more surprised than you all!” he snickers. “After all, it’s been a long time since I felt someone else manipulating air aside from me.” Nishinoya runs towards him hugging to their grandfather. “Grandpops!”

* * *

“The first thing an airbender has to learn is meditating. Because it’s in meditating that we learn to control our breathing haha!” Mineo breathily chuckles as the trudge to the mountainous path. That morning, Nishinoya’s parents allowed him to go foraging for herbs with his grandfather when in reality, it’s to train. Mineo Nishinoya, the patriarch, one day decided to retire to the mountains as he wishes to seek a life dedicating to spirituality and keeping airbending away from prying eyes.

“Geez, g-grandpa aren’t you scared that you’ll be freezing to death or something?” Nishinoya shakily replies trying not to look at the height below his feet. “No! The northern and southern air temples are near the poles so it gets really freezing at times!” Mineo smiles in contrast to Nishinoya’s shocked and scared response. In a while, the three forest clearing he carved out years back. “Perfect spot for meditating!”

As they sit, his grandfather uses his staff to assist in sitting down then instructs him to relax his shoulders and keep his posture erect “Just do as I say okay? Now close your eyes... and breathe in and out, feel the wind entering and exiting your lungs.” After a few repetitions, Nishinoya just yawns “Grandpa this feels weird I get sleepy now. Can I ask you or do something instead? Why do we even have to meditate again?” “Airbending relies on spirituality. Without it, our power wanes until it disappears when you stop practicing it.”Mineo opens his other eye “Meditating helps greatly with our spirituality, but spirituality isn’t just those cosmic stuff you hear on those fortune tellers.”

“Spirituality starts when you root yourself to this world and beyond, like the feeling the cold air flutter your hair, while meditating.” The young kid just stares at him in wonder “So what do you feel now Yuu?”

“I….” he inhales and exhales slowly “I fell scared… still scared of everything.”

“But now?” Mineo closes his eyes once more. “Don’t feel as much” he said as his eyes open again once more. “It makes me feel even better for a bit.”

"Airbending is letting go of your earthly attachments especially to negativity and becoming like a leaf in the wind.” Grandpa picks a leaf, forming small tornados with it while nudging the boy to do the same. “Recognizing freedom exists even in places you don't think about as long as you allow yourself to be free like a leaf. Let the air take you and your fears away." Then they both let go of the leaf, letting it be blown high away with Nishinoya continuing to follow the track of the leaf as it disappears in the canopy.

Grandpa stands up excitement filled his features “Now, let’s try other things and meditate again later!”

Much balancing on the bamboo poles, being pushed off a shallow ledge to glide with the staff in the air and struggling to keep a leaf afloat, Grandfather called it a day as the sun slowly sinks on its horizon. “T-that was hardcore” Nishinoya sighs looking at the setting sun whose deep orange rays illuminating them. "But what if I'm still afraid grandpa?"

"Then there's nothing wrong in asking for help. After all, air bisons are there so the air nomads were never alone in their travels throughout the four nations.”

With weeks coming by, Nishinoya slowly manage to wear less covering as they trek; stand on the poles with just his right feet when they play airball and managing to make a u-turn in his gliding. As years pass by, though his grandfather’s strength was slowly waning to age, Nishinoya at twelve can now stand just either the tips of his toes or index fingers on the bamboo poles; glide from the three summits of the mountain range and keeping pebbles afloat as he dashes over the makeshift trapeze.

However, even the monks can only live for so long.

Nishinoya, now fourteen, sits beside his grandfather’s bedside in the family home. Grandfather fainted the other day after they pulled an elaborate prank on one of his equally comedic sisters for his birthday and now, he’s laying for days now as they all took turns in looking after the old man. “Yuu,” grandfather calls out to him. “Yes gramps! What can I do for you?” Nishinoya quickly holds his wrinkled tattooed hands. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to provide you the 36 tests needed to get your tattoos.” He wistfully looks. The spiky brunette thumbs over the huge blue arrows that was once covered by brown fingerless gloves “Well it’s not like I can get myself tattooed with Fire Nation still hunting down the Avatar from our people….”

_Hinata_

“Huh?” He looks at him confused at what his grandfather was saying but grandfather pulls him whispering. “His name was Hinata Shoyo. The youngest Air Master to exist at the age of 12 and last seen riding with his air bison at the age of 14. No one knew where he is for the decades I have in hiding but I’m confident he was just out there waiting to be called back by the people.” Goosebumps rise from his grandfather’s words—as if the biggest secret of his grandfather’s past was unearthed whose treasures of it was for his little ears only. “Yuu, find an air bison for…”

**It’s a companion for life.**

* * *

A year after his grandfather’s death, he sets out to his village to find for that elusive air bison that haven’t been seen since the start of the war. With his glider, he carefully flies his way only to be dragged to the exact spot of the foggy swamp tribe in the swamp by a freak tornado incident. Initially met with hostility, Nishinoya won their trust and hearts as he displays his deep appreciation to spiritual pursuits and his respect for the life and nature through airbending. He sits again under the sacred banyan grove tree meditating on sunrise like he usually does.

_The winds have told him that the war is ending sooner than we think._


End file.
